Flames in the Sky
by TheIrishShipperholic
Summary: AU. When a triple homicide rocks NYC and Chicago, three teams - the C.S.I.: NY team, Castle & Beckett and the Intelligence Unit - must join forces to catch the killer before it's too late.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Flames in the Sky  
><strong>Author:<strong> Dylan/dylanasurus and Katie/TheIrishShipperholic  
><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I own nothing but this story and my original characters  
><strong>ShowMovie/Book:** Castle, Crime Scene Investigation: New York and Chicago P.D. (crossover)  
><strong>CouplesCategory:** Castle/Beckett, Hank/Addison, Mac/Stella, Danny/Erin, Adam/Abby, Jo/Olinsky (Chicago P.D.), Danny/Erin Lindsay, Lindsay/TBD, and others mixed through out. Alternate Universe (AU)  
><strong>Rating:<strong> Mature, for violence, language, sexual scenes and periodical alcoholic consumption  
><strong>Summary:<strong> AU. When a triple homicide rocks NYC and Chicago, the C.S.I.: NY team with help from Castle & Beckett must join forces with the CPD team to catch the killer before it's too late.  
><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Dylan and I are very pleased to be able to work together. We both enjoy each others' writing, so we hope that you enjoy ours combined!

**Chapter One**

**New York**

The girl whimpered as she scooted back further away from the person holding a gun on her, ignoring the metal floor of the bus. "Please don't kill me. I'll do anything!" she whimpered.

"It's too late for that," the person replied in a low growl. He advanced on her, forcing her to her feet then put the gun at her forehead and shot her point blank. She sank to the floor, lifeless.

Detective Kate Beckett rolled over in bed and sighed as her phone kept ringing. Realizing that it was actually something important, important meaning work, she grabbed her phone and answered it. "Beckett." Her voice was still filled with sleep as she spoke. The person on the other end informed of a murder and she threw her head back on the pillow. She had been hoping to sleep in, but that plan obviously had just gone out the door. Hanging up, she swung her feet over the edge of the bed. She hit Castle lightly but hard enough to wake him up. He groaned before realizing what was going on and that they had caught a case. Neither person wanted to get up at 6am on their day off.

The pair pulled up to scene, to find Esposito and Ryan already there. "Okay guys, what do we got?" Kate yelled as she walked under the yellow crime scene tape, closely followed by Castle.

"Female. Gunshot wound to the head. Close range. Looks like a mob hit." Esposito spoke as Ryan led them over to the victim. Kate shook her head; she never understood how people could do such a thing.

"Do we know what choice of weapon?" she then asked.

"Don't know yet," Ryan said. "We're still working to get the bullet out." He nodded over at Lanie working to get the victim into the back of the M.E. van.

Kate shook her head as she directed her attention towards Lanie. Of course this wasn't going to be easy. It never was. It was days like today that made Kate want to scream in frustration. Not just because she was frustrated with the job, but more frustrated with the amount of cases that were suspected mob hits and had gone cold. The fact that the pile of mob hits on her desk kept growing by the day was enough to make anyone want to scream.

**In Chicago**…  
>A couple holding tightly onto each other backed away from the gun aimed at them. "What do you want from us, man? We don't have any money!" the guy said.<p>

"I don't care about money," the masked man said as he came closer, put the gun to the girl's head and shot her point blank. The guy watched helplessly as his girlfriend fell to the floor of the abandoned school bus then began to sob.

"You killed her, man! You killed my girlfriend!" he yelled then advanced toward the gunman, grabbing the arm that had the weapon and began to try and wrestle it away.

The young man then ran out of the bus, trying not to cry at what he had just seen. Running as fast as his feet would carry him, he ran down the streets of Chicago before coming across a police station. He walked in, covered in his girlfriend's blood, the person at the door looked at him in shock. The man looked at him with sorrow covering his face as he spoke. "Can I help you?"

The young man sighed before speaking. "Yes. A-A guy just killed my girlfriend. I didn't see his face or anything but I can please talk to a detective or someone?" Looking as if he were about to cry, the young man's voice cracked as he explained what had just happened.

Desk Sergeant Trudy Platt let her mouth crease into a concerned frown as she witnessed this young man talking to Officer Roman so she lifted her hand and snapped her fingers. "Officer Roman, can I speak to you for a moment?" she asked in a firm tone that didn't leave time for questioning her.

Officer Sean Roman did as he was told. "Yes, Sgt. Platt?"

"What is it that that young man needs?"

"He needs to talk to a detective, m…Sgt. Platt," Sean stuttered out in response.

Trudy nodded upstairs. "Go find Detective Halstead or Ruzek," she told him. Sean headed up the stairs to the Intelligence Unit part of the building, where he found the two male detectives sitting and conversing with Erin Lindsay and Kim Burgess respectively. Clearing his throat got the attention of Jay and Erin, and the latter of the two stood up to walk over to Sean.

"What's goin' on, Officer Roman?" she asked in her husky voice.

**In New York City**

Kate had wandered into the 13th Precinct, a specific task in mind. She walked with a purpose, her feet carrying her towards the desk of Detective Don Flack. She looked at him with a no nonsense type of look as she placed her hands on his desk to get his attention.

"Can I help you ma'am?" Flack looked up from his paperwork, one eyebrow raised in questioning as he spoke.

Kate looked at him and slid her badge across the desk. "Yeah, I'm Detective Kate Beckett, 12th Precinct. I was told you may have information on a case I'm working." She was professional, no-nonsense as she spoke to Flack. She just wanted answers and she wanted to catch this guy as soon as she could.

"We should probably go see Mac," he said, standing up and leading her out of the Precinct, heading uptown to the Crime Scene Investigation building, where he led her inside and going up to his boss' office.

Kate followed him to the crime lab, her mind running wild with questions. "Can I ask why we are going to see this Mac person?" She ran up next to him, her eyebrows lifting as she spoke.

Flack shook his head. How could she have worked for NYPD and not know who Mac Taylor was? "We're going to see a friend of mine. His name is Mac Taylor. He's head of the Crime Lab. He'll have the answers to the questions you have."

Kate nodded then followed him into the building, where Flack used one knuckle to tap on the glass window of the office that belonged to Mac. He had a smirk on his face because he noticed his sometimes boss making out with his wife, Stella Bonasera Taylor. Inside the office, Mac eased Stella off of his lap then stood up and walked over to open the door. "Flack, what's this about?" Mac asked.

"Mac, this is Detective Kate Beckett, from the 12th Precinct. She wanted to ask some questions about that case that was brought in earlier," Flack replied.

Kate smiled politely at Mac as she tried to not laugh at the scene she had just witnessed. She knew how it went, getting caught by someone at work in that moment. "Hi." Kate stuck her hand out to shake the older detective's hand. You could almost tell she was suppressing giggles.

Mac shook her hand, smiling at the younger woman as Stella stood behind him smiling as well. "How can I help you today, Detective Beckett?" He led her into his office followed by Stella and Flack wanting information on the case as well, even though they had all the information they needed.

"I was hoping you could catch me up on what you know about the school bus homicide case," Kate said as she took a seat across from him.

"Ah, yes. We haven't learned much, but two teams are better than nothing, am I right?" Mac said with a smile as he wrapped his arms around Stella when she resumed her earlier spot in his lap.

"That is true, Detective Taylor," Kate said with a slight smirk.

Flack let out a small laugh at the smirk Kate had on her face. It reminded him of Jess. The smirk she used to give him when he'd make dirty jokes, but that was long before she started joining in with the jokes and being his partner in crime. "Boss, is it okay if she works alongside our team?" he then asked after clearing his throat.

"Yeah, the more help the better." Mac gave Kate a smile and a nod of his head as he spoke.

Kate looked at him, returning the smile before standing up. "As long as you don't mind my team helping yours, I'm on board."

Before Mac could reply, Kate's cell phone chimed with a text message and she pulled it out of her jacket pocket, reading the text from Rick. Then she responded with '_Come by the Crime lab, if you and Alexis have time; you can meet the head investigator for the other team we'll be working with._'

'_I'll be there soon,_' he responded back and Kate smiled then looked over at Mac. "I hope you don't mind, but one of the people from my team is on his way to meet you in person."

**Back in Chicago**…  
>Hank Voight had just dropped his granddaughter off when his cell phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket. "This is Voight," he said upon answering the call.<p>

"Boss, we've got a new case," the voice of Antonio Dawson said through the phone line.

"I'm on my way," Hank said in a gruff voice before hanging up and driving away from his daughter and son-in-law's home. He drove quickly to the location; putting his car in park and turning the ignition off before climbing out, walking up to Antonio and Alvin Olinsky. "What have we got?"

"Triple homicide and it's not pretty," Alvin explained as he, Antonio and Hank walked up to the abandoned school bus, climbing the steps onto the vehicle.

The three older policemen walked up to where the medical examiner was still taking photographs. Hank examined the scene for a few minutes before declaring, "So, the killer shoots the girl at close range, fights with someone that was obviously on the bus for the weapon, and then that someone runs off?"

"Sounds accurate," Antonio piped in, nodding his head. "But the better question is …where did the killer go?"

_That was a really good question. Where **did** the killer go?_

**Author's Note:** Where DID the killer go? Find out soon!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**New York**

Kate had just finished introductions with the C.S.I. team and Castle when her phone started ringing. "This is Detective Beckett." She let out a heavy sigh as the person on the other end of the line told her that there was another school bus murder and where it was located. "Okay. We'll be right there." She hung up and turned her head toward Mac, giving him a sympathetic look. "We have yet another one. Want to tag along?"

Mac nodded. "Let me go and get Stella," he responded, turning around to head toward the lab office where his wife was.

Kate gave a quick nod of her head as Mac walked off to get his wife. Turning her attention towards Castle and Detective Flack, Kate sighed heavily at the prospect of having a serial killer on their hands. "So…" Her voice trailed off as Mac and Stella came walking back over towards the group.

"Let's get going," Mac said and the group headed off to the location given out, where they met up with medical examiner Sid. "Sid, what have you got for us?"

Sid looked up from the body and gave a quick nod of his head. "Straight business as always, Mac. Not much. I have to get her back to the morgue. But right now, I'm going to say she was killed sometime between 3 and 7am and a gunshot wound to the head is cause of death."

Mac nodded. "Keep us updated."

"Will do, boss," Sid said before he loaded the victim into the back of the medical examiner's van.

After he was gone, Mac turned to look over his shoulder at his wife when she gently grasped his hand. He turned slowly around to face her completely then brought his hands up to frame her cheeks.

Kate stood in the middle of the scene trying to take in what had happened there. She wouldn't admit it but it scared her that a serial killer was roaming the city.

**In Chicago**…  
>"Get back to me when you have actual evidence," Hank said, hanging up the phone abruptly. He let out a sigh then glanced over when Detective Erin Lindsay appeared. "What is it, Erin?"<p>

"There's someone who wants to talk to you," she said, pointing over her shoulder. Standing up, Hank followed the female detective out of his office and watched as Erin walked over to the young woman that stood hesitant in the spot just above the stairs.

Erin wrapped a gentle arm around the girl's shoulders and brought her toward Hank. "It's okay. Go ahead and tell him," she said softly to the girl.

"I …I saw what happened, Sergeant Voight. And I didn't see the k-killer's eyes, but I could see a trace of a scar," the girl said in a hesitant voice, the tone a whisper.

"How long was the scar?" he asked, nodding over to the girlfriend of Detective Jay Halstead. Redhead Harley Thomas grabbed the sketchbook and opened it to a new page then held her pencil poised above the paper while waiting for the girl to describe the killer's face/scar.

The girl described the killers face and scar as Harley Thomas drew. The girl had reverted inwards and stopped talking suddenly. It was too much for her and she just stood there with a blank look on her face as Harley stood there, trying to get more information about the killer. The redhead then walked over to gently place her hand onto the girl's arm. "Perhaps we could take this into the break room and do it one on one?" she asked in a soft murmur. The girl nodded and followed Harley into the break room, which Harley closed the door to so that they wouldn't be interrupted. "Now …tell me more about the scar. Where was it?"

"On his cheek, just below his eye," the girl replied, hugging herself tightly as she began to rock back and forth, silent tears flowing down her cheeks. "I'm not going to be arrested for this, am I?"

"What makes you ask that?" Harley said as she continued to sketch away, glancing occasionally over at the teenager.

The teenager rocked in the chair and stared at Harley. "I…I just don't want to…to get in trouble. I won't right?" She sat there, arms hugging her legs to her chest and crying. It was just too much to take in at the moment.

Harley put aside her sketchbook. "Honey, you helping us by describing the suspect will help the police. You're far from getting in trouble. Come here," she said, opening her arms, which the teenager fell into and hugged the girl. "I once had to help the police with a case too. I didn't want to because I was so scared. But I got over my fear because the detective interviewing me was a woman. I just need you to trust me, okay? We all know what we're doing."

The girl nodded. "Okay," she whispered.

After they got the sketch drawn, Harley and the teenage girl left the break room. The redhead went over to hang the sketch that she'd ripped out of her book onto the white board then escorted the teenager out of the 21st precinct, to Officer Kim Burgess and Officer Sean Roman. "These officers will take you home, okay? Stay safe and remember to lock your doors," Harley told her, giving her a stern look and the girl nodded that she understood.

Once the patrol car had driven away, Harley turned to go back into the police station, heading for the locker rooms. Jay found her there, and sat down next to her on the bench she occupied, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the side of her head. "I love you. You know that, right?" he whispered and she nodded, tears falling down her cheeks. "And I can't wait to marry you and be a father."

"You do know what Voight will say, right?" she asked softly.

"Technically, it's not against the rules for us, Harley. You don't work here all the time," he reminded her.

**In New York**…

Kate stood in the 12th precinct looking at the white board. It wasn't going to talk to her. She knew this, but she hoped in the 20 minutes she had been staring at it, that it would tell her something. Give her some kind of answer. But no, it didn't and she let out a heavy sigh as she pulled a picture of the first victim off.

Flack and Castle walked up behind her and for the person who was always on alert, Kate didn't notice. "Hey, you. It's not going to talk." Castle put his arms around her as he spoke. Flack smiled at the two, knowing that he couldn't wait to get home to Jess that night. Pull her into a hug; just be grateful she was still alive. It was cases like these that made him thankful for everything he had.

"You know me so well," Kate murmured to him as she placed her hands over his arms over his around her.

"I do, and you're going to catch this killer. We all will," he said, kissing the side of her head.

"I hope so," she replied. Just then, the phone at Kate's desk rang and Castle relinquished his hold on her so that she could go over to answer it. "This is Detective Beckett," she said.

"Detective Beckett, this is Sergeant Hank Voight of the 21st District in Chicago. We finally have a sketch of the killer. Do you want me to fax it to you and, if so, what's the number?" Hank said through the phone.

Kate let out a sigh and nodded. "Yes, please. It's 212-555-0113." She recited the number off to Voight and rolled her eyes. It was going to be a long night.

**Author's Note:** It will be a long night, indeed! Hopefully this chapter answers a few questions for y'all and that you enjoy reading it!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**New York**

Adam Ross was many things, but one thing that he was an expert at was being a husband and father. Walking into the house he lived in with Abby and Ellie, he called out, "Abby, I'm home."

"I'm in the kitchen," she called back. He put his messenger bag down after removing it from around himself, heading toward where he had heard her voice and finding her and their toddler daughter.

"Daddy, you home!" Ellie said excitedly, running up to him and hugging him around his neck after he lifted her up into his arms to deliver a raspberry to her little cheek and making her squeal with laughter.

"I'm home, baby girl. How was your day? Did you give Momma any trouble?" he asked as he walked over to greet Abby with a brief kiss to her lips.

The little girl laughed and looked Adam, a bright smile on her face. "No wubble, momma." Adam laughed at the mispronunciation of 'trouble'.

Abby turned to face Adam and smiled as he kissed her. "Our day was wonderful. We ran some errands and little miss only had one tantrum."

"Good," Adam said as he turned to set Ellie down, watching as she scampered off to find something to do in the living room. He soon heard her babbling to herself and turned to his wife. "We got an unusual case today."

"Oh? Want to talk about it?" she asked, giving him a reassuring smile as she continued to cook.

"It's confusing, Abby. We have a killer out there, doing it in triple form, but there has only been one witness to come forward about seeing him. They're in Chicago," Adam replied.

Abby nodded slowly, eyebrows furrowing as her husband spoke. "Hmm.. That is very strange. So you working with CPD?"

Adam nodded and sat down on a bar stool that had been pushed up against the counter. "But don't you worry about it. My job, my worries." He smiled at Abby who had went back to making dinner.

"Yeah yeah yeah. I worry about you everyday." Abby let out a giggle as she stirred the spaghetti.

"And I worry about you. Did she really keep her tantrums to a minimum today?" Adam asked as he turned to pick up a cracker, munching on it as he asked.

"Yeah, she did. I was surprised too," she replied. "Have you talked to Danny at all?" She worried all the time about what her former brother-in-law was going through since Lindsay had up and left him with no warning, simply writing a note to him that said she wasn't ready to mend the past – or be a mom.

While Danny drowned in his sorrows, Abby had taken guardianship of her niece, who loved Adam to pieces. Currently, the 9 year old was upstairs in her room, listening to Taylor Swift. Adam shook his head. "Every time I do, he just shuts down. He doesn't even come into work anymore," he replied.  
>Abby sighed, she wished Lindsay hadn't walked out and truthfully, as much as she loved Danny, she wished he would get over himself and worry about how it was all effecting Lucy as well. "I miss the old Danny. He loved his work, his daughter, he just loved life."<p>

Adam nodded, Lucy seemed to be doing okay but she was so closed off most of the time it was hard to tell. He just wanted to help her and though she adored him, she was independent just like both her parents.

"Hopefully we'll get him back," he said softly, reaching for his wife to pull her close, his nose nuzzling her cheek with affection.

**Meanwhile**…  
>Erin Lindsay was just nodding off when she heard the chime come from her laptop and she reached out to pick it up from the coffee table in front of her couch in her apartment.<p>

MRCSIDAN: What are you up to?  
>EVILCPDERIN: Trying not to fall asleep, you?<br>MRCSIDAN: Not much. Just wishing I could see you in person.

Danny smiled as he typed and stared at Erin's profile picture. Hopefully one day they would be able to meet. While he still missed Lindsay, he was slowly getting himself back out there.

Erin had been completely devastated when her beloved high school sweetheart, James Evans, had been killed in combat while in Afghanistan and had been so inconsolable for weeks that James' sister Cassandra was unable to get her to respond to her phone calls or text messages. Now, her eyes drifted to the picture of them the last time they saw each other a year ago. It was one of her smiling at the camera, his back turned to the said camera as they embraced tightly, him kissing her temple as he gazed at her and her alone. Letting out a sigh, she turned back to the computer after using one hand to wipe at the tears she could feel blurring her vision.

EVILCPDERIN: Maybe one day…

**The Next Day**…  
>Erin arrived at work, keeping to herself as she thumbed through files that had been handed out for the case. Jay noticed her distant stature and walked over, tapping on her desk with the folder in his hands. "Hey, is everything okay?" he asked softly.<p>

"Yeah, everything is fine," she replied. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Because I know his anniversary is coming up and I know how much meant to you, Erin," Jay replied.

"He did mean the world to me, Halstead, but the past is the past. I'm moving forward with my life," Erin told him.

"You didn't just lose someone you love, Erin. I lost him too. I lost someone I called 'brother' for many years, practically our entire lives," Jay said.

"I know. He told me. He died saving your life, but a part of me died when he did, Jay. And I'll never be able to stand here and look at you without seeing him," Erin said.

"He loved you! He was going to propose to you! He had a ring picked out and everything," Jay yelled at her. His raised voice got the attention of their fellow detectives and officers and Jay's own fiancé when they saw the two

"You have no idea what you're talking about. So leave me the hell alone," Erin spat out before turning to go over to the stairs, hurrying down them. Jay was about to go after her when his fiancé stopped him.

"Let me talk to her," she said in a soft voice. He nodded, giving her a quick kiss on the lips as she and Officer Kim Burgess went after Erin, finding her in the basement where the Cage was.

Burgess sat quietly right outside the Cage as Erin sat inside of it, her head in her hands. "Hey. You okay?" Burgess sat with her back up against the Cage hoping that Erin wouldn't end up ripping her head off.

"Yeah, I just...I miss James," Erin said, sniffling and wiping her eyes.

Burgess sighed heavily, the look in her eyes soft and caring. "I know. And you're going to yell at me for this but Jay didn't mean what he said okay? I know he didn't."

"I know he didn't mean it either, Burgess. He and James were like brothers and we both mourned for him," Erin said softly.

"It's okay to mourn someone that you love. But it's also good to find love again. I know that James would want that for you," Burgess said.

"I-I know. It's just hard. I don't know if I want to move on." Erin shook her head, she was still in extreme denial even though she had convinced herself she had moved on.

"Come on. Let's take a little field trip," Harley then spoke up, speaking in a soft voice.

"Where are we going?" Erin asked as the other two female officers led her out of the garage part of the precinct and out to Harley and Jay's shared SUV.

"First, we're going to the church to check up on any details that the suspect from earlier," the redhead told her.

"And then we're going to pay a visit to the cemetery," Burgess piped up.

Upstairs, Jay was starting to get worried about why his partner, his fiancé and Adam Ruzek's sometimes partner hadn't returned from the Cage downstairs and pulled out his cell phone to send a text to Harley. '**Where are you?**'

'**We're on our way to the church and cemetery. Don't tell Voight,**' was her response. Jay made a face then glanced over when Ruzek cleared his throat. "Where'd they go, Halstead?"

"Church and cemetery," was Jay's response. "I'm guessing they're paying a visit to James' grave." Jay shrugged.

**New York**  
>Danny Messer arrived at the crime lab while the sky was still pitch black. Things between him and Lindsay were still awry, and he barely talked to Lucy. He knew he should be a better father to her, but what could he say? "Sorry, Mommy decided that we weren't worth sticking around for?" Danny put his thoughts aside as he turned on the lights in his work area, illuminating it and making the moon outside that much brighter.<p>

Adam had stayed late that night, the case was big and he didn't really want to go home knowing Danny was working the night shift. He wanted to talk to Danny, see if maybe he could knock some sense into him. Adam was never one to stay angry at people but after Lindsay had up and left taking all but a note, Adam was left angry. Probably, angrier then he should have been but he hated seeing Danny like this and he hated the questions Lucy asked about why Lindsay left. He loved the 9 year old to death but just wished he could make everything better.

Mac sat in his office, staring at a computer screen. It was typical he didn't go home even though he was now married. He still suffered from insomnia and still put in long hours because of it. And he wanted to get this case closed. A light turned on in the office next to his and it caught his eye. Looking over, he saw Danny in the office and he shook his head. Lindsay had up and left and Danny had become self centered. Not that he meant too, but he had left Lucy to try to and fend for herself. And now he barely talked to his own daughter. Mac knew that this was life, and he knew you couldn't do anything but roll with the punches but he still didn't like it.

Stella was the next to head into the office, but she was decent enough to wait until the sun had risen to shine some of the sky rise buildings. Her heels clicked quietly on the floor as she first headed to her husband's office, finding him with his head down on the desk before her gaze went over to the office next to his.

She looked in the office next to her husband's and sighed. The familiar face that was lit up by the desk lamp belonged to none other then Danny Messer. She shook her head as she looked at her husband who was still asleep on his desk. "Hey you. Wake up." She tapped his shoulder and let out a giggle as he groggily sat up. Mac blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes to focus.

"Mmm. Hey. Coffee?" Mac looked at Stella, sleep still filling his voice as he spoke.

Stella placed a cup of coffee in front of him and smiled. "So, what's Danny doing here? Thought he called in 'sick' again."

"That's what I thought too, apparently. But, I guess things don't change," he said, picking up the coffee before bringing her into his lap.

"No, they don't. I just wish he'd reach out to Lucy, though. She needs him more than ever," Stella said softly.

He nodded slowly, knowing what it was like to be in Danny's position. "Don't we all?" His voice was quiet as he watched more people come into the lab. It was going to be a busy day.

Flack wandered into the lab, wanting to see if there was any new information on the case but the sight of Danny caught him off guard and he wandered into his friend's office. "Yo. Danny boy. How's things?" He sat down in the chair across from Danny's desk and Danny looked up at Flack.

"Hey." His voice was broken and sad as he spoke. He hadn't spoke to Flack in a while, hell, he hadn't spoke to anyone in a while. "Things are...yeah.. let's not go there."

Flack shook his head, wanting to go there. "So...you see Lucy lately?"

Lucy. That was a sore subject for Danny. He loved his little girl more then anything but he couldn't be a father. Lindsay left, not wanting to be a mother so obviously in his mind, he had done something wrong and he couldn't be a father because of it. "Nope." He left it at that, hoping no one would rip his head off for that.

They both turned when a beautiful brunette walked up to the door for Mac's office and they immediately scrambled to go after her, Danny beating Flack to open the glass door. She shook her head then said "thank you" in a hoarse voice before stepping into the office of the head of the crime lab. Danny and Flack followed her and Stella gave them a curious eyebrow before turning to the woman. "Who are you?"

"My name is Detective Erin Lindsay of the Chicago Police Department. I believe that he and," she said, pointing at Mac. "I spoke on the phone the other day about the case that came up."

"Oh, right," Mac said, standing up just after Stella did to extend a hand toward her.

Danny stood rooted to the spot. _So this was the face behind the woman I've been talking to?_ he thought to himself.

**Author's Note:** So, this concludes the third chapter, which I hope that you all enjoyed. The next chapter will include:

~ Danny & Erin conversation  
>~ More case stuff<br>~ Beckett & Hank finally meet


End file.
